Saturday, July 4, 2020

MACHINE GUN – Machine Gun (MU Records ‎– MU 1001 / LP-1988)




Label: MU Records ‎– MU 1001
Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: US / Released: 1988
Style: Experimental, Jazz-Rock, Free Improvisation
Side A recorded live at the Court Tavern, N.B., N.J.
Side B recorded live at CBGB's N.Y.C., except Trinity Rain recorded
at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.
All tracks improvised
Cover design by – Thi Linh Le
Produced by – Robert Musso
Engineered by – Tom Ruff
Mastered by – Howie Weinberg
℗ 1988 MU Records / Printed in Canada
Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout, Etched): MU 1001 SA QΔ 1-1
Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout, Etched): MU 1001 SB QΔ-X 1-1

side 1:
A1 - In Court ............................................................................................................. 5:53
A2 - The Opening Of Entry ....................................................................................... 3:30
A3 - Fancy Products ................................................................................................. 3:46
A4 - Prancing In Your Bed ........................................................................................ 4:48
A5 - Dive ................................................................................................................... 3:50

side 2:
B1 - Myffy's 1st Date ................................................................................................ 2:49
B2 - The .8 Factor .................................................................................................... 3:58
B3 - One For The Chipper ........................................................................................ 2:04
B4 - Trinity Rain ........................................................................................................ 3:21
B5 - Hierocryptics ..................................................................................................... 5:52

Personnel:
Thomas Chapin – saxophone, flute
Robert Musso – guitar, 6-string bass, electronics [ambient tapes]
Jair-Rohm Parker Wells – electric bass
Bil Bryant – drums [acoustic and electric drums]
John Richey – electronics [vocal cut-up's, tapes]
with guests:
Sonny Sharrock – guitar
Karl Berger – melodica, voice


Thomas Chapin (March 9, 1957 – February 13, 1998) was an American composer and saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist. Though primarily an alto saxophonist, he also played sopranino, as well as soprano, tenor, baritone saxes and flute.
Many of his recordings as a leader featured his trio with drummer Michael Sarin and bassist Mario Pavone, occasionally joined by guests, as well as founding Machine Gun, a free-funk-free-jazz-rock band with guitarist/producer/engineer Robert Musso.
Chapin studied with Jackie McLean and Paul Jeffrey.
Chapin died of leukemia three weeks before his 41st birthday. He last played two weeks before his death, at a benefit concert.

Karl Berger / Sonny Sharrock

For all practical purposes, this is the very first Machine Gun record, comprised of two live performances in New Jersey and New York. Machine Gun was a band that played hybrid forms of rock, jazz, and funk, all from an outsider's perspective. Personnel were the late saxophonist Thomas Chapin, guitarist Robert Musso, drummer Bill Bryant, bassist Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, and vocalist and electronic cutup artist John Richey. Special guests on these dates included the late guitarist Sonny Sharrock and Karl Berger (melodica, voice). From the opening skronk of "In Court," it's obvious that Machine Gun plays high-energy, visceral music. There are riffs and form, but lots of improvisation follows that form, and mutates it further into other forms. Feedback, tape manipulation, and hard rock and punk attitude are at the heart of the Machine Gun approach to music and noisemaking. On "Fancy Products," a striated funk riff is wound around itself and a vocal until it becomes a harmolodic jazz riff that collapses in on itself before remerging as a colossal free improv jam where Chapin and Musso trade out eights for the remainder.



On the New York CBGB's date, which covers the latter half of the disc, percussion and guitars create sparkling shards of rhythm as Berger plays a melodica through the center of "Muffy's 1st Date," turning around a small lyric idea until it gradually expands out to involve the entire band in its hypnotic simplicity. Here again, there is little refinement to the approach -- just an insistence on energy and forward thrust as the dynamic range collapses by the seventh or eighth track. This is very interesting.... and performance promise incredible sense of space and sounds, and in the end you get it all in the best possible manner .... Great album!

(Review by B. Bismount)



If you find it, buy this album!

60 comments:

  1. MACHINE GUN – Machine Gun (MU Records ‎– MU 1001 / LP-1988)
    Vinyl Rip/FLAC-96+Artwork (377.19 MB)


    You can get the download link exclusively through:
    differentper@gmail.com


    Regards.

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  2. Thanks a lot Vitko. Great music... as usual.

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  3. Really great album! I love all Chapin albums. Many thanks, Vitko!

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  4. Looks nice! Thanks a lot, Vitko!

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  5. Many thanks Vitko! So great! Djet

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  6. Thanks a lot for the link and your wonderful work.

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  7. many thanks this is most excellent

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  8. thanks for another superb addition to this wonderful blog.

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  9. This is outstanding indeed, Vitko. Thank you!

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  10. Thanks a lot Vitko - much appreciated

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  11. hello, absolutely incredible music. thank you r. keith

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  12. Thanks for this terrific share. ejh.

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  13. Thank you so much Vitko, for all three of these amazing albums.

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  14. Many Thanks for the link.
    I never had the opportunity to hear this first album from MACHINE GUN (I knew the third, "PASS THE AMMO"). This One is worth listening to it. It's full of energy.
    Your blog is a fantastic source of music.

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  15. Many thanks, Vitko for such great music!

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  16. This is new to me. Thanks a lot, Vitko!

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  17. Haven't heard this in Far too long. Thank you!

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  18. Anything by Thomas Chapin deserves eatra attention.

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  19. Thank you very much for sharing, looking forward to this.

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  20. GRAZIE Vitko!!!!! ...

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  21. Thanks very much, Vitko! Always glad to find something new to me with Thomas Chapin (and Sorry Sharrock's presence is a good thing too).

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  22. Thank you very much. I didn't know this music.

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  23. Great freaky stuff thanks! I guess you could say it's kinda like Last Exit but not as violent.

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  24. Thank you, Vitko, thank you! Chapin is one of the best.

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  25. Thank you very much Vitko, very kind as always.

    Rob

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  26. Muito obrigado Vtko, pela gentileza, fantástico!
    Forte abraço.

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  27. Thank you so much for the download...Awesome!#!

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  28. Thanks Vitko! Best music always

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  29. I've never heard of this album before. Thank you for this wonderful discovery. Vitko, you run the best blog.

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  30. Thanks so much. Other and first Machine Gun. All two fantastic.

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  31. Many thanks, Vitko!
    All the best!!

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  32. Huge Thanks Brother!!!

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  33. what can I say?
    I love all these 'out there' musics, some of which are quite difficult to find
    so, merci beaucoup!

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  34. Hi Vikto:
    Any chance for this?
    https://www.discogs.com/Takashi-Mizuhashi-Herbie-Hancock-One-Tuesday-In-New-York/release/4647567
    Many thanks. Regards Richard

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  35. I'm sorry, but I don't have that album.

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  36. Post the other Machine Gun as well, please.

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  37. One of my favorite bands. Thank you! All of Robert Musso’s work is very good. Looking forward to your next post in this series.

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  38. Man! In the late eighties I was lucky enough to meet Karl Berger in a pub. Very impressive person.

    Another fine issue in your collection which makes me a bit jealous.

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  39. Thank you so much! Sonny Sharrock is the best!

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  40. thank you for the link. thank you for this album. thank you for this blog and thank you for all the hard work you put into it.

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  41. Thnaks for the link. Never heard of that band earlier. Great music!

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  42. Thank you for the link, quite astonished to hear Thomas Chapin playing so roughly.

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  43. Wonderful transfer. I've experienced great joy listening to it. Thank you very much.

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  44. Link request recently issued, and am hoping for a good listen to this one, which I was not aware of until now. I have a couple of the later issued Machine Gun titles from the group's radio broadcasts (WFMU etc.) which can be downloaded from some of the usual commercial download sites. Anyway, thanks in advance for your efforts.

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